Govt extends KYC form submission deadline till Nov 30

Nov 16, 2012, 03.47AM ISTTNN[ Priyanka Singh ]

LUCKNOW: In another relief to people with multiple illegal LPG connections, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas has extended the deadline to submit Know Your Consumer (KYC) forms till November 30. Earlier the submission date was November 15. The second extension in deadline comes in wake of mammoth task of streamlining LPG connections.

The oil companies' officials said the announcement was expected as it was almost impossible to regularize the sector within a short span. Officials expressed the possibility of further extension in the deadline owing to confusion among the companies and dealers on how to deal with the situation. They know about the core guidelines but have no clue about the way forward.

A dealer said, "It seems as if the ministry is also confused. They have laid down the new guidelines but have no practical approach to achieve them. We are again waiting for a new deadline. On one hand, they are announcing that people who will not submit KYC forms will be liable for cancellation and on the other they keep extending the deadline." He expressed his concern saying that nobody would take the new system seriously unless the ministry frames a feasible strategy towards regularization of the sector.

The industry denied that deadline was extended on account of Diwali. Instead, it said that given the extent of illegal connections and poor control, the ministry feels it would need some more months to streamline the sector. "People were never questioned about LPG consumption until now. Many had no documents but were never questioned. Now they are being asked to follow a strict procedure. It would take time for them to imbibe the new situation and process", said an official.

DP Singh, president, UP chapter of All India LPG Distributors Federation (AILDF) told TOI, "Our association's office bearers met the ministry officials and told them that given the number of KYC forms to be updated online they would require at least another 45 more days. The ministry has only given us 15 days extension. They might extend it further."

Singh explained problems about collecting KYC forms, "People have become too speculative and are approaching dealers in such a large number that it is difficult for staff in a dealer's office to individually explain them. There is a small staff in every dealer's office and their prime job is to supply cylinders and keep a track of it. With the new format, dealers are complaining that most of their time is consumed in explaining to the consumers about the form."

He added that the UP belt is dominated by rural and uneducated people who don't know any technicalities about the form. "It's a challenge to explain them till they are convinced. Moreover, people with single connections who are not required to submit KYC are also approaching dealers, often with incomplete forms making things even more chaotic. A dealer said that it takes a lot of time to update every detail about KYC form online.

Presently, only those consumers who have connections with different name and same address, or same name and same address and who have given incomplete details on the forms need to submit KYC forms.